Ho'opana'i
by angelofjoy
Summary: Sequel to: Hamau Pohaku - Gladys McMahon is back and ready to enact her brother's revenge on Danny and Steve. Once again it will take all hands to make light the work, to save Steve and Danny, and to bring the reign of terror to an end – once and for all.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well here it is the long anticipated sequel to **_**Hamau Pohaku**_**. **

**I'm bringing back the cast of characters and the team dynamic that I love. Doris will pop in and out and so will Lori Weston (sorry to those of you who don't like either character). Daniel McMahon is DEAD, but his spirit lives on in Gladys and Danny's Nightmares…**

**As always I own nothing, the characters of the property of CBS.**

Chapter 1: Prologue

"_We, the jury, find the accused guilty_!"

The words were like music to Danny's ears – but it was short lived. It had taken months to mount the case against Gladys McMahon. To have the insane woman - twin sister to Daniel McMahon - finally charged, to the highest degree, was like the weight of a million cases lifted off Danny's shoulders.

She was now officially guilty and as Danny sat in the courtroom in uniform - flanked on both sides by his friends also in uniform - a chill of foreboding ran down his spine and made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Not quite the feelings he'd been anticipating when the verdict was read.

In the same room, shackled but professionally dressed, sat the woman in question. As the verdict was read a smirk of amusement crossed her face, and in that moment it was plain to see that she was indeed a twin to the now deceased psychopath. Danny saw it, but he was sure that he was the only one. He must have tensed up because the Navy SEAL to his right turned and stared at him.

"What is it Danny?" Steve asked as their eyes met and then his gaze was pulled toward the woman at the front of the courtroom who had started to wail and cause a scene.

"It's all for show," Danny whispered harshly as Gladys was lead out of the courtroom. "Something is about to go very wrong, very fast."

"Don't be silly. She's going back to the mainland to serve out her life behind the bars of a max security women's facility." Steve stated with a wave of his hand.

"That didn't hold her brother." Danny said under his breath.

"Finally you will be free of all the McMahon horror." Steve stated as he reach out to shake hands with the lawyer who had fought the case on the side of Five-O.

"I won't be free, not until they are all dead, and even then they have messed with my mind. Daniel McMahon lurks in the darkness - every darkness I come into contact with - but he's been dead for months. I've been in therapy even longer."

"This is another step toward healing," Kono said as she wrapped her arms around Danny's neck. "We all need time to heal after what happened to you, but for now we're safe and the odds are in our favour. We are safe, and sound, and together right now. That's what matters the most."

Danny tried to smile as Lori Weston - who'd returned to the island just for the trial - also reached out to hug him.

"I'm glad you came, Lori."

"Like I was going to miss this?" Lori stated and pecked Danny on the cheek. "It's my closure too, Danny. I know this case and that family scared me half to death - I can only imagine what they have done to you. I needed to be here for you and for my own peace of mind."

"Well I hope you get to stay for a while." Danny smirked but there was weariness in those baby blue eyes.

"Just long enough to celebrate this win!" Lori stated energetically.

"And cause a ruckus I hope!" Kono said playfully.

"A ruckus and maybe even some shenanigans," Lori played along.

"All right, keep it together and be professional people. You two, we're not even out of the courthouse yet," Steve scolded but there wasn't anything serious in it.

"You're not the boss of me - anymore," Lori stated with a laugh.

Steve rolled his eyes but there was a genuine smile that crossed his face.

"So what, take five, change out of these terrible uniforms and meet back at the shrimp truck in an hour?" Lori asked as she rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I only have a few more days. I gotta get my Aloha fix!"

"I could go for lunch," Chin said with a nod.

"Then I guess it's settled." Steve said with a shrug as he glanced toward his brooding partner. "Let's get outta here."

Danny nodded, snapped himself out of his thoughts and forced a smile.

"Don't look so excited, Danny. I can't take it!" Lori teased and passed out of the courtroom.

5-0

Outside the courthouse the Five-Os watched solemnly - one hand already on their weapons - as the court security and HPD handlers escorted Gladys McMahon from the holding cell in the court house into the armoured vehicle. She would be moved to Halawa where she would be held in solitary - with an armed guard - until it was time to transport her to the mainland. The exchange would take place in a little over two days, and that would be the last Hawaii would see of Gladys McMahon and her reign of terror.

"With our luck she'll be out by lunch time." Danny stated as the heave steel door on the back of the armoured vehicle clanged shut and was bolted with two armed HPD SWAT officers inside.

"Lord, Danny! Don't jinx us!" Kono stated, playfully punching him in the arm as the armoured vehicle drove away with a convoy of about a dozen cruisers. She then practically skipped toward her car - followed by Lori because she was staying with Kono for this visit.

Danny was darkly silence as he fell into the passenger side of his car.

"You okay?" Steve asked before he put the key in the ignition.

"Don't you feel it?" Danny asked as he turned to look at his partner. "There is a storm coming. Something isn't right and it all has to do with that girl and a ghost."

"I can call and have security doubled on her until she's off the Island. Would that make you feel better?" Steve asked sympathetically.

"It won't help," Danny said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "It's probably me just being paranoid."

"You have every right to feel that way." Steve said and pulled out of the parking lot. "I don't care what anyone says, what Daniel McMahon did to you - physically and emotionally – it changed you, Danny. Hell, it changed all of us. It split us up and it brought us together. It scared the crap out of me in ways that war never did. It's not something you just get over, but you can't let it run your life either."

"You sound like my Shrink!" Danny tried to tease his partner but there really wasn't any resolve in it.

"I see the same Shrink, remember," Steve said with a sigh, "and he thinks I have PTSD after what happened to you."

"I just think McMahon broke me." Danny said and sighed again as he stared out the window now. "I didn't need a doctor to tell me that and he's not doing a very good job trying to put the pieces back together. Maybe I can move forward now that Gladys is going, but there will always be that broken piece with jagged edges that will poke at my emotional state."

"That is ever so poetic of you," Steve couldn't help but laugh.

Danny shook his head.

"You want to go out with the gang for lunch, or would you rather go home?" Steve asked after a long silence.

"I can't let McMahon run my life," Danny stated and this time there was resolve. "I want to go out for lunch."

"All right," Steve said with a nod and steered the Camaro toward the shrimp truck.

5-0

Three days later, somewhere between the airport and the maximum security women's correctional facility in Colorado, Gladys McMahon escaped leaving three men dead, and two severely mutilated. She went to great lengths to make sure that her first victims resembled those of her brothers, and then disappeared without a trace. She was sending a message.

5-0

Detective Danny Williams was woken from his nightmares by the sound of his ringing cell phone. It was Steve with the news that started the storm.


	2. One Year Ago On This Day

**A/N: Thank you everyone for showing such amazing interest and support for this story. I'm really hoping it doesn't give me nightmares like the first one. Oh and for those of you asking for the whump, there is a little in this chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: One Year Ago On This Day

The days and weeks after Gladys escaped were spent in high anxiety for everyone on the Five-O team, but also those who had been put in charge of her transportation. They were checked, mourned and charged with facilitating the escape of a dangerous criminal, but Gladys was in the wind.

Two men on the Colorado side of the transport were found to have been connected with Gladys previously. When they were investigated the police found that they had arranged for Gladys to have weapons at her disposal - to commit the murders and mutilations of her handlers - and these two men were the one that helped her disappear.

The weapons were found in one of the men's apartments while blood, hair and clothing matching the murders and Gladys were found in a vehicle that the second man was caught trying to torch. They both were both taken into custody at approximately the same time.

Two days after the two men were apprehended and as they were being held by the Nevada police, they were both found dead in their holding cells - having ingested a lethal dosage of Oxycodone and alcohol.

Upon reviewing surveillance tapes which made it all the way back to Five-O, and were analyzed by specialists on both sides, it was found that Gladys - dressed in a police uniform and mimicking the confidence and nearly identical movements of her brother - waltzed right into the police station and up to both men in their cells. She handed them the lethal combinations, spoke to them for some time - individually - and watched as they freely and willingly ingested the poisons. After this she walked right out of the precinct - making sure to wave at the cameras as she left - and she disappeared without a trace.

Danny had seen the previous videos of Daniel McMahon using this method as well, and it made his skin crawl to see just how alike Gladys and her brother were.

5-0

As the months rolled on and the trail grew cold, it began to seem like Gladys would never be found. Her face was plastered all over web sites and most wanted lists. Rewards were issued for information into her whereabouts, there was even a television special broadcast nationally that explained how dangerous the woman was and what she had done. Bits and pieces of the previous Five-O case were even revisited for the sake of the general population to scare people out of helping her and into turning her in. But nothing worked, and as the year began to fade out from under them, Five-O had to move on and focus on other things. Crime on the island didn't stop just because Gladys McMahon wasn't in custody.

Gladys could be the least of their worries with Steve's mother now in the picture, and Kono's boyfriend a target. Chin was depressed and trying valiantly to rally from the death of his wife, but there was still heartache and pain surrounding that situations. All in all, life was moving on - happening when they wanted time to stand still so that they could regroup - but life never happened that way.

5-0

One evening, to celebrate another case closed and a job well done, Steve had taken the time to cook for his friends – knowing full well that his mother was having people over as well. The crew all came to the house. He barbecued in the back yard, they sat by the water, and they called it an early night all the while, Doris entertained her guests and Steve's as politely as she could muster.

Doris hung around to snoop, with the pretext that she, and her guest, would be going out later in the evening. Catherine had been on leave from the boat and had spent every last possible moment with the gang, but she too had to get back to her quarters and head back out to sea. Kono returned to Adam, Chin said he was tired but really wanted some time to sit alone in his house - in the place were Malia had died - and mourn.

They had all come together, enjoyed each other company outside of the office where they worked, but as with all things, each individual had their own life and needed time to themselves. Danny remained at Steve's side longer than the rest. Grace and her mother and step father had taken a trip to the mainland, so Danny was very much alone on the island, and in a way, so was Steve.

It was also a day Danny had been dreading. For months he'd been trying to push his anxiety aside, but there was no use. He knew that Gladys was free. He knew that she was out there and he knew, deep down in his heart, that there would be a time when they would have to deal with her.

As the anniversary of the day that he shot her bother and killed him dawned, Danny got the same uneasy feeling of a brewing storm. He rose from his bed earlier than usual with a sick twisted feeling in his stomach, and did all in his power to get himself to where there would be other people, because on this day, Danny just didn't want to be alone. His hands shook, his heart raced, but he got to the office and right away - and thankfully - Steve was already ready to dive right back into the case they had been working for the whole week. He snatched the keys out of Danny's hands and immediately they were off and running - and Danny was happy to not be alone.

By evening, as the sun set and the case was over, Danny and Steve made their way out to the beach behind Steve's place to just sit around and relax. The house had emptied out early. Doris was getting ready to head out with friends, and Steve had bought a case of beer that he planned to drink with Danny to calm his partners nerves, because even Steve had noticed the anxious behaviour of his partner on this day, but he hadn't had time to get around to asking him what it was about, because truth be told, Gladys was the farthest thing from Steve's mind at the time.

5-0

Like the calm before the storm, the three heavily armed men moved into place, silent as the shadows, and from there they waited - waited for the duo to split up, waited for the darkness to fall and the shadows to descend. They waited patiently for every other person to leave their targets wide open, because they had been given orders, and the orders were to take them both – alive.

They had been watching and waiting for the right moment all day. They had seen Danny leave his house. They had followed him to the office. It wasn't the right time. Their orders were clear, both or nothing, so they waited and followed. They watched how these two men worked together. On several occasions they believed that something had gone astray because the curiosity, or the instincts, of the Jersey detective had caused him to look up, look around and even catch sight of the strangers who kept to their vehicles.

Maybe they looked like they were reporters. Maybe the detective didn't recognize the equipment they carried from the distance, but he had seen them at least twice over the course of the day. Something was up with that man. He was on edge and so, after the second spotting, they had to regroup and become more like ghosts. Danny didn't see them again that day, but they had always been watching him.

5-0

Danny and Steve sat out behind the house, their feet in the cool sand, as the dinner party thinned out inside. Doris McGarrett came out of the house, just as the last car pulled away - bringing with her two more beers for her son and his friend.

"Steven, thank you for being civil tonight," Doris stated as she handed her son the beers.

"I'm glad you're making friends," Steve said ignoring his mothers tone, but Danny had caught the disinterest in his partner's voice. "I'm glad that you didn't mind that mine were here."

"We always hang out with the same people anyway," Danny stated absentmindedly.

"Exactly," Steve said as he turned slightly and looked at his mother.

"I'm going to go down to Waikiki for the rest of the evening to join my friends. Do you mind cleaning up the rest of the dishes?" She asked.

"I'll do the dishes, don't worry about it," Steve stated with a slight wave of his hand - as if he wanted to be left alone. "You have fun, but don't get into any trouble, mother," he warned.

"If I were to get into trouble, you'd never know about it," Doris said in a sing song voice as she walked back to the house.

"She underestimates us," Danny said when he knew she was gone.

"She does, it's her CIA elitism," Steve said with a shrug, "and it's a small island. It's very hard to keep secrets here, no matter what you are trying to hide."

"That makes policing all the more easy."

"True." Steve chuckled.

Shortly there after a car door slammed shut and the engine revved, and Steve knew his mother had left for the evening. They were alone now, just Danny and Steve.

"It really wasn't that bad," Danny said when the coast was clear.

"Shh, she may still hear you. You don't know what kinds of CIA tricks she's got up her sleeve."

"Oh come on, it was a dinner party with locals who are most certainly not CIA agents or criminals. One of the guys was the principal at Grace's school. I'm pretty sure you're mom is trying really hard to start over and you're not going to let her."

"Sure, certain aspects of her life are normal, but I know she's still keeping secrets."

"I don't doubt that for a second," Danny stated with a sigh as he sipped his beer, "but this tit-for-tat thing you've got going on can't be healthy."

"I have a tit-for-tat thing going on with you and it works just fine."

Danny rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is it was nice of her to make room for all of us. At least you didn't have to spend the evening alone with all those people and your mother."

"True, I'll give you that," Steve said with a nod, "but now I'm stuck cleaning up."

"It is your house," Danny mocked.

"Exactly, and I had planned dinner first, or at least I thought I had. Imagine my surprised when I got home and here she was taking over my house. She got the drift pretty quickly - as I had been to the butcher shop before coming home - that my friends were coming over as well. I guess it worked out for the better. You had multiple choices for side dishes, where as I had a bag salad in the fridge to go with the steaks and that was it," Steve said with a laugh, "nothing fancy."

"Your mom makes a killer potato salad," Danny said, held out his beer to his friend and silently toasted Doris McGarrett.

"I'm glad you liked it." Steve said after a sip of his beer and he heard his partner sigh and stretch. "What's wrong with you today?" Steve asked as he looked in Danny's directions. "You've been more fidgety than usual, and jumpy, very jumpy today."

"A year ago today, running on adrenaline and pharmaceutical drugs, I shot and killed Daniel McMahon when I probably should have stayed in the hospital a little longer, but I couldn't. I had to act. I had to take my life back. I had to change the balance and I couldn't be the victim anymore. I woke up this morning feeling as if he was staring at me and I couldn't shake it all day. I'd known this day was coming, but I hadn't anticipated being this affected by it." Danny answered honestly.

"It's been a year?" was all Steve could say.

Danny nodded and downed the rest of his beer and picked up the new one that Doris had brought out for him, but didn't drink. He put the bottle down again and looked at his partner finally. "I still feel like he's watching me. All day it's been with me. I caught glimpses of people in the crowds at our crime scenes today and I half expected him to be standing right there with that twisted grin on his face. I was paranoid all day. I scanned every crowd for Gladys almost certain she was watching my every move."

"Danny, he's dead. You shot him," Steve said reassuringly, "and she's not on the island. We'd know."

"You don't know that for sure." Danny said with a sigh and drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "Those people are crazy, Steve, they'll always get the better of us."

"McMahan didn't, you're plan fooled him," Steve said optimistically. "Remember, you had me play bait. I was shot – in the body armor."

"Fool me once, shame on you fool me twice, shame on me," Danny said with a sigh as he stared out at the darkening horizon.

"Danny, you can't live like this. You have to believe that something better is come. Gladys McMahon will be caught, she'll be caught or found dead, or you'll get to her like you got to her bother. She's probably too afraid of you to come anywhere near us. We're moving on from this. It's over. It's been a year and now it's time to put it all to rest." Steve stated as he stood. "You gonna come and help me, or are you just going to sit there and wallow?"

"I'm coming. I'll be in, in just a second." Danny answered as Steve loomed over him for a moment and then headed back toward the house.

5-0

Behind his back, Steve heard movement, but too much to be only one person. Then, as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow and a quick movement his right.

Danny hit the ground before he could even cry out to warn Steve. Then it was three on one, as Steve dropped the bottles he was carrying. They crashed onto the patio stones and shattered as Steve punched and kicked at the three men that were closing in on him.

"Danny!" Steve called out, but his partner didn't move, and the reaction cost him as the blunt end of a gun impacted with Steve's side - knocking the wind out of him and sending him to his knees.

"You should have listened to your partner," One masked man stated as he watched Steve try to regain his balance.

"She's not afraid of you," a second man stated and there was laughter on his tone.

"I swear if you hurt Danny, I'll kill all of you!" Steve threatened and was struck in the face.

Blood flowed fast and free from Steve's split lip as the three men towered over him.

"She wants you both, lover boy, so don't you worry about your precious little Danno." The first stated with a chuckle and swiftly booted Steve in the side with his steal toed boot.

The next thing Steve knew was that someone had both his hands pinned behind his back as a second assailant caught him in the side of the head with the butt end of the weapon he carried, and then everything faded to black.


	3. We're Not In Kansas Anymore

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has commented on this story. You guys are amazing. I'm so glad you like it so far. **

**Gladys is becoming as bad, if not worse, than her brother. **

Chapter 3: We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Doris returned home in the early hours of the morning to find all of the light on in Steve's house and the Camaro still in the drive way. She sighed to herself and rolled her eyes as she moved through it turning off the lights. Once in the kitchen she found it exactly as she's left it. Frustrated, she slammed around the dirty dishes and went about doing them herself. The hot water foamed up in the sink and as she waited she stole a glance outside to where she's left her son and his friend, but they weren't there. One beer still sat on the table between the chairs but Danny and Steve were nowhere to be found.

Doris turned off the water to the sink and moved toward the back door. She turned on the lights to the back yard and stepped out but jumped as she stepped into the broken glass with her bare feet.

"Steven?" she called into the early morning hour but there wasn't an answer.

Retreating back into the house, Doris found the case of beer unchanged from when she left. She found Steve's weapon, his badge and his wallet in his room. She found Danny's car keys by the front door - his shoes were there as well.

A sudden wave of panic came over the woman who had only just regained a son. She sprang for the land line that hung on the wall in the kitchen to call the first people she could think of as waves of possible scenarios played over in her head - none of which were what was actually waiting for her.

5-0

Doris had called Chin first, and woke him from a dead sleep. He was the first to arrive and as he walked up the driveway toward the house the sound of paper fluttering in the wind caught his attention.

"No, it can't be like this." Chin said to himself as he spotted the page of foolscap paper pinned to the windshield of Danny's car.

Without taking it, Chin used the camera on his phone and photographed the Camaro. The flash of the phones camera lit up the darkness of the early morning hour, and to confirm Chin's suspicion and to make his stomach churn with dread, the note on the car was signed with the McMahon name.

5-0

Kono was the second to arrive and she was already preparing herself for the worst. Chin had called he when he'd found the note and sent her in search of some equipment to preserve what he already knew. When she arrived she walked right past the Camaro and in through the house with a field kit in one hand, and found Chin and Doris at the back door.

"Did you bring the Luminol?" Chin asked

"I got it." Kono answered.

"Can you two tell me what is going on?"

Chin and Kono shared a concerned look as Kono placed the kit down on the floor and Chin handed Kono the letter he'd bagged and placed in his pocket.

"Did you read it?" Koko asked - afraid of the answer.

"I can't," Chin said and took the kit and moved further into the back yard. "I'll do this and you can make some phone calls."

"Kono, tell me what is going on!" Doris demanded.

"Has Steve told you about Daniel McMahon?" Kono asked and held the plastic bag with the letter in it like it was a bomb.

"He mentioned a Gladys McMahon and a court appearance."

"You might want to sit down. This is a long story."

"Give me the annotated version, I've got time." Doris said and defiantly crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground.

"Daniel McMahon abducted Danny and buried him alive. Steve and the team were left clues to find him and McMahon hacked into all of our systems and blocked us at every turn, but we still managed to save Danny, and with Steve acting as bait, Danny shot and killed McMahon. Now his sister, who escaped prison on the mainland, has left us a clue and this time she's taken both of them."

"Are they dead?" Doris asked and there was a serious professionalism about her - rather than emotion for her son.

"Let's read the note and find out." Kono said and carefully - after having put on a pair of black latex gloves - pulled the sheet of paper out of the evidence bag.

5-0

_To Whom It May Concern - or not concern:_

_I'll not be cordial, I'll not be kind, I'll not send you on a wild goose chase, but what I have given you is this - my account of a brilliant man with no apologies as to what I have done or what I am prepared to do._

_I am Gladys Louise McMahon - as you surely know - and my brother deserves vengeance against the members of the Five-O task-force._

_Daniel Alexander McMahon was a being of higher thinking, great intelligence, and sound principle - though the rest of the world is flawed and did not see his advanced intelligence as a way to save the human race. He was called a psychopath and a lunatic, and he died because he had reached out to the one man whom he believed could understand him, but Detective Williams was as flawed as the system he devotes his life to and all the rest of the world, and although he could have been made to see the new way of light, he was blinded by the rules of a flawed and dying society._

_Daniel McMahon had a vision for a superior race devoid of discrimination by what was on the outside - without race, colour, country - but defined by the capacity of the minds within it. He believed that the modern world was no longer suited for the strongest, but rather, for the smartest. By ridding the world of strength of body and greed, the world's problems could be solved by those whose intelligence was superior, but his dream was shattered - ended by a shocking betrayal of a brilliant mind, and the weapons of a simply and Neanderthal society._

_You have become a stupid race of sheep! You are controlled by out dated rules and weapons that any ape, with opposable thumbs, could operate. There is no imagination in any of you any more. You've lost the shine and the spark that might have opened your eyes and your minds to the greater powers. You must suffer though the knowledge that you've once again barred yourselves from the proverbial Eden. Daniel could have shown you the way, but you killed him._

_I do not pity you. You deserve no such sympathy. The fault is yours alone to bare - the burden of the weigh - great indeed. And so, I have set out to finish what my brother had started - starting with the two men who failed him. I will strike without warning on you Kono Kalakaua and Chin Ho Kelly. I will go for the throats of your friends Lori Weston, Max Bergman, Charlie Fong, Catherine Rollins and the one you call Toast, but you will wait until Daniel and Steven have paid for their sins. You will mourn them as I have mourned the light that was my brother._

_One day the rains will wash over all of you. They will flood the world as in the great purge, but I will give you no boats - no two by twos or mercy for the righteous. You deserve no such luxury._

_When I have finished with Five-O, I will move on to spread the word of my brother's light. He who shared my blood will be avenged by the blood of your family._

_This I leave to you as my manifesto and my promise._

_You will not find me, nor do I want you to find your friends, but if you were smart enough to outsmart my brother - which I do not believe any of your had the capacity for except perhaps Daniel - you will find but one clue in my words. That's all you will get._

_I remain your sworn enemy and nightmare:_

_Gladys Louise McMahon_

5-0

Having struggled against his bonds until his muscles ached, and after finally coming to with a rather large lump forming on the side of his head, Danny was finally able to free one arm from the multitudes of ropes and wire that cut through his clothing and ripped at his skin, and he was able to pull the gag out of his mouth.

"Steve! Can you move, Steve?" Danny asked feeling the weight of his partner slumped and silent behind him.

They sat, tied together on the floor of a very dark room. The dripping of water could be heard off in the distance, and the place smelled of mould and salt. It was damp everywhere, and pitch dark, but Danny's eyes had started to adjust to the lack of light, and even though it was muggy and humid, Danny shivered right down to his core.

"Steve can you hear me?"

Steve groaned.

"What did they do to you?" Danny asked as he twisted his other arm free and continued working to get himself completely untangled.

"You went down like a ton of bricks and I didn't want you to get hurt anymore, so I just kept fighting," Steve answered weakly.

"I went down like a ton of bricks so that I wouldn't get hurt anymore - also I got conked on the side the head with a rifle stock, it was enough to put me out. You should have followed my lead so that maybe we could both be trying to get free from these ropes and not just me doing all the work." Danny ranted trying to assess the damage as his adrenaline ran high and his worry for Steve started to peak, as his partner continue to slump weakly behind him and his head rolled forward as if Steve was having a very hard time holding himself up and staying conscious.

Steve groaned again.

"Don't worry, I've almost got this," Danny said in response to his partner.

"Watch the wires," Steve said as he tensed momentarily and then slumped again.

"Sorry, they are cutting me too, but I'm almost out."

"I have wire cutters in the car," Steve said weakly.

"I don't think the car is anywhere near where we are." Danny stated as he freed his leg and moved gingerly to stand, although hunched over to keep his balance and to help Steve. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."

"I can't tell." Steve said as he opened his eyes to see his partner hunched over him and working on the ropes that bound him. "Everything's a blur."

"Well you look like you took a might good beating to your head and face, so I'm not surprised that you're a little out of it." Danny said. "I can tell you for sure, this is not your back yard, and this is not the location we were beat up in. Frankly, Steve, I don't know where we are."

"What do you smell?" Steve asked.

"What do you smell?" Danny asked looking at his partner with suspicion and worry.

"I can't smell right now, I think they broke my nose. I can hear dripping water though." Steve explained.

"Yeah, I hear that too, but it would go hand in hand with the fact that it was raining this morning, or yesterday morning, or whenever depending on how long we've been out."

"But it's dripping inside," Steve commented. "We are inside something, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are inside a very dark, room." Danny stated and the remembrance of other claustrophobic spaces caused his stomach to twist, but it made him more determined to work harder at the bonds that tied his best friend.

"What do you smell?" Steve asked again.

"I smell, I smell, blood, probably yours and I smell sweat, also probably yours."

"In the room Daniel," Steve corrected with impatience.

"Well at least we know you're coherent-ish," Danny stated and Steve could see the ghost of a smile cross his partners face.

"Good evaluation of my mental faculties," Steve said with a weak grin, "but what else do you smell."

"Salt and mould," Danny stated, "maybe something metallic that has been sitting in water too long."

"The ground feels like concrete, so we can rule out shipping container."

"And coffins," Danny said as the memory of his greatest fears flooded in around him.

"We're definitely not in coffins," Steve said with a nod of his head that spoke more to what he knew had crossed Danny's mind, "and at least we're together this time."

"True," Danny said and finished untying his partner. "There, you're free. Now, can you move?" he asked.

"Give me a hand," Steve stated and reached out for Danny.

Danny pulled Steve to his feet, and then felt his partner start and buckle to his knees.

"What happened?" Danny asked with concern.

"Low ceiling," Steve stated, "can't you tell?"

Danny straightened up and felt the ceiling brush his head before he crouched again, "So we are in a small space."

"Don't panic," Steve stated as he felt his partners grip on his bicep tighten.

"I'm not going to panic," Danny retorted defensively.

"I think I know where we are," Steve stated as he forced himself to stay on his hands and knees as he began to crawl toward the sound of the dripping water.

"Wait, where are you going?" Danny asked, and although he crouched, he followed Steve.

"I think we're in a flood drain, and if the rain hasn't stopped the city will opened these flood ways to help the sewers and avoid back ups. If we are trapped down here when that happens, we're goners."

"We are definitely not in Kansas anymore."


	4. The Voice Of Nightmares

**A/N: So as I work on this story I have really started to feel sorry for Kono and Chin. Now this will be one of the first times I've ever had to write major scenes exclusively for them. I am more comfortable writing Danny and Steve, but they're trapped in tight spot, so I have to write Chin and Kono, and the team they will pull together. I'm bringing Lori back because of the role she played in the first story in this set. I know there are a lot of people out there don't care for her, but I need the additional person.**

**Anyway, this chapter is a lot about the state of affairs for Kono and Chin, and bringing Doris into this world. Hope you like it, and yes, I really have a soft spot for Toast. He's in all of my stories.**

Chapter 4: The Voice of Nightmares

"Who are these people?" Doris asked as Kono finished reading the letter.

"They are monsters, they are ghosts, they are our nightmares," Kono answered as she looked out over the yard.

The sun was rising to the east, sending long shadows over the yard toward the water, and Chin worked. He'd gone all the way out to the chairs first and found one bottle on the table and the other on the ground. There was beer still in both of them. He sprayed the luminol on the chairs and on the ground near them and prayed, but the blood was revealed. Not enough to worry about blood loss, but enough for a sample, and to know that someone had ended up hurt.

"What did you find?" Kono asked as she left Doris in the house and came toward her cousin.

"There's blood," Chin answered and sighed as he worked. "Two bottles here and glass enough for two more at the door. Whoever attacked Danny and Steved, waited for there to be distance between them to take them with ease. Multiple attackers, I'm going to guess that Danny was here and the attackers came from near the neighbour's yard and the tree cover." Chin explained.

"I'm going to call a forensics team out here Chin. They'll go over the yard and the Camaro. If there is evidence to find, they will find it. You need to stop." Kono said and reached out to take a hold of her cousin's shoulder.

"I can't, we have to help them. It's just us this time!" Chin stated almost frantically and fought Kono's touch.

"No, it's not. We need to regroup. Gladys has named us all in the letter. It's time to get the whole band back together so that we can keep each other safe, and try to save Steve and Danny while we're at it. You need to read the letter, it's all she going to give us, but if her henchmen left evidence to find, I'm going to guess that she's going to have to tie up loose ends to make it harder for us to find her. We need to stop those deaths from happening, we need to clear our minds and get them back in this game. What would Danny do? He's dealt with these people before."

"He'd get every last forensic detective out here and make this yard priority number one." Chin stated.

"And, he'd retrace his steps from today and the days leading up to now. Maybe these attackers were following them. Maybe they were waiting for the perfect moment. Yesterday was a symbolic day. It was the day, a year ago, that Danny shot and killed McMahon. I doubt that was a coincidence." Kono explained.

"You're right. We need all hands on deck for this one." Chin stated and closed his field kit. "We need to start looking."

5-0

"Why does it have to be so dark?" Danny asked out loud hoping that the only person who could hear him was Steve, but knowing that if experience had served him correctly, someone else was bound to hear it all, and deep down in the darkest parts of his soul, Danny knew exactly who was to blame for this situation. He'd been waiting for it - knew it would come and here it was.

"Just stay calm." Steve said from somewhere in the darkness.

"Calm is easy for you. You weren't the one buried alive." Danny panicked but tried to keep it together.

"At least we're together this time. We can get out of this - together."

"Oh I highly doubt that, but do try. It will be ever so entertaining." A voice echoed off the damp dark walls.

"Gladys." Danny gasped.

"Fear doesn't become you Daniel, what would my brother say?" Gladys responded with a sick sort of tone that could drive anyone to their deepest fears. "He'd say, 'Daniel, your mind is playing tricks on you. Fear is nothing more than a figment of your imagination. Imagine it away, or embrace it as your strength, but don't fall victim to your fear.'"

"You're brother is dead, I shot him and silenced him forever." Danny retorted.

Gladys chuckled. "Oh Daniel, if that were true, you wouldn't be so afraid. You hear his voice every time you close your eyes. You hear him taunting you and you hear him now in me. He will always be here. There is no silencing the ghosts that haunt your mind."

"Danny, stop talking to her. Don't let her get inside your head."

"It's too late Stevie boy, we're all trapped inside Danny's noggin!" Gladys mocked. "Trapped together this time, and trapped is where you will remain - unless your two lovely partners – Chin and Kono - back in the light can find their way through my little rat race and into the darkness. Unlike my brother, I'm not about to give them any links to you or bread crumbs – though they know exactly who they are dealing with. I gave them that much. They have seen my face by now. They'll have to find you all on their own. But, I'm not completely unfeeling - Lord no! There is one way out for you, Daniel and Steviekins. One escape. One plan B. There is one thing you can do to make this work to your advantage."

"It can't be death. You would have left us our weapons for that." Steve stated.

"Exactly Stevie - not just another pretty face are we? And to clarify, you were un-armed and completely relaxed when we found you, so your weapons are exactly where you left them. No indeed, death would be a waste of my time and effort, and I have been planning my revenge since that moment you locked me in that dark, dungeonous military prison cell. How do you like it now? There is one way out of this darkness for you two - it will be hard. It will test you, but if you can figure it out on your own, well, then I will turn myself in and I'll gladly go back to jail - or you can kill me Daniel." Gladys mocked.

"And what if our friends find us first?" Steve asked.

"Well if they are smart enough for that, I'll be long gone before they get to you. You had better pray for a sunny day - chasing the clouds away..." Gladys sang the familiar tune to the children's show and made all of the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stand on end - it was like he was listening to her brother in the moment when he realized he'd been buried alive.

"You'll never get away with this!" Danny yelled.

"Oh Daniel, I already have!" Gladys said and laughed a laugh that dripped and echoed off the walls of the dark place and then it faded away to nothing but silence.

5-0

Doris followed Kono and Chin into the office but the two Five-Os barely spoke to each other, they hardly moved, they hardly even breathed as they moved through the office awkwardly.

Finally, looking disheveled and half asleep, Toast walked in.

"Have you touched anything?" he asked - his eyes red and blood shot.

"No," Kono stated and Chin shook his head.

"All right, hand me your phones and leave me to this. I'm going to pulse this office with an electro magnetic pulse to kill any bugs, then I'll continue with a full sweep. Don't worry, you won't loose anything, I've been backing everything up - with Catherine's help - to a naval database and cloud site. When I'm satisfied that the office is under our control, we'll get back to work." Toast explained as he started to pull random, home made, devices out of the satchel he'd looped over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Doris asked as she's never seen such and unprofessional officer before in her life.

"My name is Adam Charles, but my professional name is Toast." he answered. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Doris McGarrett."

"Ah, the dead done. Got it. Hand me your phone and please step into the hallway with Kono and Chin."

"Absolutely not!" Doris stated.

Toast looked to Kono and Chin and raised and eyebrow.

"She's a former CIA spy," Kono stated.

"Yeah, I know. I hacked the files for Steve, but does she not know who we are dealing with here?" Toasted asked.

"You did what? That's impossible." Doris gasped.

"That's such a load of CIA bullshit," Toast winked. "You people are not as high and mighty as you think you are. That being said, I'll ask you again. Please hand over your phone and step into the hallway. We're dealing with a very delicate situation here and we don't want to fall victim to old tricks. I understand that you weren't here for the first case, so you are unfamiliar with what is going on - I'll be turning you over to Chin and Kono for further debriefing - but for now you have to understand that the McMahons have a knack for the electrical age, so I need some time with the system to make sure she's still ours."

"Please, Doris, the sooner this is done, the sooner we can get to work." Chin stated and led the way out of the office.

"Fine," Doris stated and handed over her cellular phone and followed obediently.

Kono, Chin and Doris sat in the hallways, watching through the glass doors as Toast worked.

"I can't believe you called a hacker in on this case," Doris grumbled.

"He'd officially on the payroll, thanks to your son and the Governor, so if you have a problem with it you'll have to take it up with Steve when we find him, and Governor Denning. Toast was named in the letter. We need him here to keep him safe just as much as we need him to help us find Steve and Danny." Kono explained and there was a shortness that she'd never adapted before with Doris that came through. "We will gather all the people in that list together to keep them close and to use them for what they did the last time. It was a team effort and because of that team, we were able to rescue Danny."

"And you don't think this master criminal has already though of that?" Doris asked moodily.

"I'm hoping that she has. If she comes after any of us while we're trying to find Danny and Steve that will be the slip we'll need to follow her trail." Kono stated.

"Then we'd better get started. Denning should be the first to know what's going on. I'll stay here while you and Doris go to the Governor's office and get all the go-ahead we need from him, and Kono, check your car very carefully first." Chin stated to end the argument. "Take every precaution Kono."

Kono nodded and stood.

"What does the Governor have to do with anything?" Doris asked as she got up ready to follow Kono.

"Half of his Task-Force is missing. He's got to be the one to call in our back up." Kono stated and marched through the halls of the historic building and out to her Red Cruze.

**A/N: Today's pop culture reference is brought to you by Sesame Street**


End file.
